Millet has until the end of January to determine the future of Millet School

The Town of Millet has until the end of January to make up its mind about its interest in Millet School.

During the Dec. 12 regular council meeting, council received a letter from Wetaskiwin Regional Public Schools saying WRPS has received an inquiry from a party interested in purchasing the building.

Under provincial regulations, once a school district has declared a property surplus, other educational facilities or municipalities have first option on acquiring the school.

“The board said we need to know if you’re interested or not interested,” said WRPS Superintendent Terry Pearson. “If there is interest, we need to go through the process but we need to know by the end of January.”

The Town of Millet has been investigating to see if there is community interest in them taking over the Millet School building, which was closed two years ago, and if they do what would be involved financially.

At a community meeting earlier this year, residents said they would like to see the town take over the building, the town since hired a contractor to assess the state of the building.

Following the meeting, Millet Mayor Tony Wadsworth said the Town now has that report and will be looking for a little more detailed information on some items in the report before it comes to council at the Jan. 9 council meeting.

“We will be considering the school situation to develop a formal response to WRPS,” he said, “but there seems to be a desire among Millet council to make it work.”